All is Well . . .

At least as far as we know.

We’re not including pictures with this update. That’s simply because the updater has not yet mastered how to make them go where they should be on the blog page, and the updater doesn’t have time to sit and tinker. Eventually . . .

Things go at a quick clip around here most of the time, but then comes conference time. All three of the General Authorities are in Salt Lake City to attend the conference. They left last week, have stayed all this week, and then will return next week, mid-week. It gives a chance for some of the fast-paced tasks to be finally completed. We think they’ll have lots of things to do, however, when they return, so the hiatus will be short-lived.

There are a couple of things on the horizon . . . In mid-November Elder Dallin Oaks and Elder Quentin Cook will be in the Philippines for a mission presidents’ seminar. We have been told these are considered big events, so we have been busily planning their stay. This means arranging for plane flights, hotels, meeting rooms, entertainment, etc. Of course, the Executive Secretary does not have to do all this running around, but he is responsible to see that those who should be running around are. Actually, they are all dependable and capable and usually have things done before needing to be asked. There will later, we expect, be an announcement from Church headquarters about another event in the Philippines, but that for now is on the back burner, so don’t ask. All in due time.

We attended our last Sunday at our provincial branch, Tanay. Our assignment is changed every six months, but because we came in the middle of the term, so to speak, we only had three months. After conference, we will go to another branch up north – Manuyen. Don’t ask about it yet, because we’ve never been there. We’re going to ride up this Sunday with Elder and Sister Dixon, who are assigned there now, so we’ll learn the route. Actually, we aren’t riding with them, but we will follow them. We are taking with us the new medical advisor who replaced Elder and Sister Fuller. They will be assigned somewhere up there also, but, as we understand it, they will attend in the morning schedule and we will go in the afternoon. They’re new, just this week, so they still have to get adjusted to the unstructured bewilderment we lived in every day for three or four weeks. We’re just now beginning to think we have our wits about us. Really . . . you can’t understand it until you come look at it. The working environment is fine, super, but the outer world is a mass of confusion.

We’re taking Elder and Sister Alexander (the new medical couple) to the Mega Mall on our Saturday. That will be an experience. The mall is a big, two-tower building in downtown Quezon City. It’s an adventure and a half to get there and twice as much fun to come home again because you have to use a different route coming and going. We’ve done it a couple of times, so we think we can. What will really be the test is that on Friday night (tonight for us) we are taking them to the University to see a dance performance and then to a classy hotel (The Manila Hotel) for dinner. The “ex-patriots” (USA senior missionaries) are going to have another social. We’ve never been there, so we may end up lost and never be heard from again. Stay tuned . . .

Sister Roundy has gone to the municipal bazaar a couple of times. She enjoys that. All the sisters (couple missionary sisters that is) go in a van to shop at the bazaar. They hire a driver. She has picked up a few things that sparkle up the apartment – pictures, kitchen items, etc. She says there are nice things there and she intends to invest in some things later on to ship home. Oh my!

This is an interesting missionary experience. We aren’t really proselyting. We rarely encounter people to discuss the Church or the Gospel. We do, however, wear our missionary badges whenever we leave the apartment and we dress in our missionary uniforms (white shirt and dark pants, blouse and skirt).

Diligent effort will be given to work out the picture posting so you can see a little more of the world we live in, but for now . . . so long. All is well . . .